He is Dominique Purdy, born and raised in Koreatown, Los Angeles. His first hip-hop influence was his own mother, who made jewelry and hung tight with Ice T, the Rhyme Syndicate, and Grandmaster Caz.

“I remember Caz showing my mom how to freestyle on cassette, just fucking around. He was basically saying have fun with it, say something that comes from right where ever you are.”

Purdy moved from corner to corner through Koreatown his whole life, drawing, writing, and developing his own brand of experimental hip-hop, fused with comedy, and impromptu performance. He wrote and starred in the independent feature Driving White Black (2016). As The Koreatown Oddity, rocking a wolf mask he bought back in high school for 70 bucks, he’s been doing shows anywhere and everywhere, whether he’s invited or not: L.A.’s The Laugh Factory, Wendy’s, and Greyhound Stations.

“Finna Be Past Tense” is his first album with Stones Throw, following a long line of independently released cassettes. “Finna Be Past Tense” was produced entirely by Vex Ruffin, who met the MC after one of his public stunts. The album – also featuring Joyce Wrice, Black Moses, Tron7Seize, DJ Lala, DJ Luman – is based around a loose concept of Koreatown Oddity reckoning with life, death, and the passage of time.